Apryl McDiarmid
“You don’t realize how different a country truly is until you’re living there,” said foreign exchange student, Emma Augustsson, a foreign exchange student from Oslo, Norway who flew over by herself to Milford for the first time over the summer.

Augustsson found out about the exchange program through friends and hearing them talk about their experiences. When deciding to go through with the foreign exchange student program, students get to choose what city and state they’ll be living in. Augustsson wanted a bit more of a challenge and more excitement, and she had her foundation pick where she would be staying.

“It would’ve been cool to have been placed in L.A. but at the same time this isn’t a vacation, it’s a growing and learning experience,” said Augustsson.

“The hardest thing about moving here for a full year was knowing absolutely nothing about the city, school, or people,” said Augustsson. “You hear all about the U.S. but it really isn’t like what people tell you once you’re here. I’m experiencing a ton and I’m exposed to a totally different culture,”

Augustsson is staying with a single mom who has no connections to Milford High School, which also made the transition difficult because her host mom doesn’t know anyone from the high school either, but Augustsson loves where she lives.

Getting used to having a different school schedule and coming to a new country and getting used to having the same classes every day is difficult.

“Having English every day is overwhelming, but it’s getting better,” said Augustsson. In Oslo, they start school much later than we do in Milford. They don’t have any extra curricular clubs in Norway so when you go to school it is solely school.

“It feels like students enjoy school here more, since there are activities you can do within the school. Everyone in Norway just seems so bored with school,” said Augustsson.

In Norway, there aren’t sports teams that are run by the school. There, they call them  club sports. They are outside of school and on a student’s own time. “It’s different here because you’re not only representing yourself, you represent your school and teammates,” said Augustsson, who swam back in Oslo, Norway but quit three years ago due to a back injury.

Augustsson starting coaching swim while she was out for her injury. She is now swimming again on the Milford’s varsity swim and dive team. “Having homework every night and swim is tough to balance, but I’m getting the hang of it,” Augustsson said.

Augustsson is the only exchange student at MHS this year, but previous foreign exchange students have also had to make adjustments both before and after their program.

Tjark Schella, who some students may know him as TJ, was a foreign exchange student last year from Husum, Germany.

Adjusting back to life in Germany wasn’t too terribly difficult for Schella.

“I started to look at all the things that are different from the U.S. when I came back,” he said.

“The first thing I did was eating a German sandwich at the airport because I missed the German food,” said Schella. He said his friends and family were what he missed the most, but also his town and the sea that he lives right next to.

Schella noticed that many things had changed in his hometown while he was in America. “You’re gonna start to notice them immediately, for example new buildings or new roads. It makes you realize for how long you were gone,” said Schella.

Schella is currently back in Milford for a week visit.

“I’m really excited to be back in Milford and to see all the people that I met during my experience in the U.S, but I also want to come back and visit other states of this country because for me, the USA has always been a place I wanted to go,” he said. “I didn’t like that there was so much good food that will make you gain a lot of weight in a really short time if you’re not careful enough.”

During Schella’s stay here in the United States he made lots of memories that he could share with his family and his friends.

“I miss all the people that I met in Milford, Michigan and all it’s cool places,” said Schella. “I can look back later in my life all of these memories, but this year also made me think that even though Germany and the U.S. are both western world countries, they can be really different.”

Both exchange students have enjoyed their time in America. Augustsson is starting to create lots of memories to share with her family and friends back home in Norway, which will hopefully encourage new students to try out the program. Schella made many memories and has decided to come back and visit his friends he made while in Milford, which shows the impact this exchange program can have on you.